Bible League: Living His Word The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.— 2 Corinthians 10:4 NIV Christians should do what the Apostle Paul urges. We should "demolish strongholds." What is a "stronghold?" Literally, a stronghold is a physical fortress with defensive and offensive capabilities. It both defends against attacks and serves as a base for attacks. As used figuratively by the Apostle Paul, a stronghold is a demonic spiritual fortress that hinders people from being influenced by the work of the Holy Spirit and that inspires them to attack the work of the Holy Spirit. Since strongholds are demonic spiritual realities, they influence the soul of a person. Since everything we do flows from the soul (Proverbs 4:23), a demonic stronghold can have an impact on any area of life. The particular area that Paul has in mind in this context, however, is the area of knowledge and understanding. In the next verse, he says, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God" (v. 5). Paul worked to demolish the demonic strongholds that Satan had set up in the souls of his converts that would hinder them from knowing God. How was Paul able to demolish them? First, he accepted the fact that the "weapons of the world" would never be able to do the job. What are the weapons of the world? They are sword and shield or talent and ability. Using these weapons on their own would not be very effective. Second, Paul accepted the fact that he would need weapons that have divine power backing them up. That is, he would need weapons wielded under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. His education, knowledge, eloquence, arguments, and the like would still be the weapons of choice, but he would not depend upon them alone. Instead, he would depend upon the Holy Spirit to do the job through them. He would use his shield of faith and his sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:16-17). He would not let demons deceive him into thinking that he could demolish strongholds in his own strength. If we want to be effective demolishers of strongholds like Paul, then we must use the weapons we have been given by God, combined with the inspiration and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJeremiah 17, 18, 19 Jeremiah 17 -- The Sin of Judah; Keeping the Sabbath NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Jeremiah 18 -- As the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Jeremiah 19 -- The Broken Jar NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Timothy 6 1 Timothy 6 -- Respect for Masters; Love of money; Charge to Timothy NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.Insight How can anyone pray on all occasions? One way is to make quick, brief prayers your habitual response to every situation you meet throughout the day. Another way is to order your life around God's desires and teachings so that your very life becomes a prayer. Challenge You don't have to isolate yourself from other people and from daily work in order to pray constantly. You can make prayer your life and your life a prayer while living in a world that needs God's powerful influence. Praying for “all believers everywhere” means praying for all believers in Christ; so pray for the Christians you know and for the church around the world. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Haggai 1:9 Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.Churlish souls stint their contributions to the ministry and missionary operations, and call such saving good economy; little do they dream that they are thus impoverishing themselves. Their excuse is that they must care for their own families, and they forget that to neglect the house of God is the sure way to bring ruin upon their own houses. Our God has a method in providence by which he can succeed our endeavours beyond our expectation, or can defeat our plans to our confusion and dismay; by a turn of his hand he can steer our vessel in a profitable channel, or run it aground in poverty and bankruptcy. It is the teaching of Scripture that the Lord enriches the liberal and leaves the miserly to find out that withholding tendeth to poverty. In a very wide sphere of observation, I have noticed that the most generous Christians of my acquaintance have been always the most happy, and almost invariably the most prosperous. I have seen the liberal giver rise to wealth of which he never dreamed; and I have as often seen the mean, ungenerous churl descend to poverty by the very parsimony by which he thought to rise. Men trust good stewards with larger and larger sums, and so it frequently is with the Lord; he gives by cartloads to those who give by bushels. Where wealth is not bestowed the Lord makes the little much by the contentment which the sanctified heart feels in a portion of which the tithe has been dedicated to the Lord. Selfishness looks first at home, but godliness seeks first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, yet in the long run selfishness is loss, and godliness is great gain. It needs faith to act towards our God with an open hand, but surely he deserves it of us; and all that we can do is a very poor acknowledgment of our amazing indebtedness to his goodness. Daily Light on the Daily Path Psalm 99:1 The LORD reigns, let the peoples tremble; He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!Jeremiah 5:22 'Do you not fear Me?' declares the LORD. 'Do you not tremble in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it. Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it. Psalm 75:6,7 For not from the east, nor from the west, Nor from the desert comes exaltation; • But God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another. Daniel 2:21 "It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding. Matthew 24:6 "You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? Matthew 10:29-31 "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. • "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. • "So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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